There are typically four ways that strangers find your business online: through content shared on social media, through social media ads, through organic discovery on search engines, and through paid search in the form of search engine ads. All four are hard on a shoestring budget.

Content that is shared through social media seems like the most natural pathway for businesses on a budget, but it requires lots of ongoing content production and social networks such as Facebook have made it increasingly hard to stand out among the crowd. Organic discovery on the search engines is great if you get it, but everybody is trying for that so your chances of making Page 1 of Google is hard.

That leaves ads, whether on social media or Google. The battle for ad placement is almost as competitive as organic discovery on the search engines. But unlike organic discovery, businesses can at least buy their way out with ads on Facebook or Google.

If you’re a small business, though, buying your way out can be a problem. So here are six tips for search engine advertising on a budget.

Tip #1: Look for Local Opportunities

Pick your battles. Instead of competing for global search engine placement, see if there are any local opportunities where you can win the placement battle.

“Reduce your geography,” advises Andrew Marsh, director of sales and marketing for Search Engine People. “As an SMB, you can compete against companies with much larger budgets. If they distribute their budget of $100k per month across the entire country and you distribute your budget of $2k per month throughout two cities, you may find that you have greater impressions and click volume within those geographies.”

This approach is particularly important for businesses that are local in nature, such as restaurants and professional service organizations.

Tip #2: Focus on Needs Over Keywords

There was a time when keywords mattered more. But on their own, keywords are a poor proxy for deciding what content is best for a given search, so Google now looks under the hood and considers both content and ads more organically when serving up a results page. The outcome now is placement when you meet a need better than any other business, not just when you win the keyword war.

“The way search engines work has changed immensely over the past few years, especially when we factor in device bidding and location targeting when searching from a mobile device,” says Gee Ranasinha, founder and CEO of marketing agency Kexino. “Our advice to SMBs today is to revisit their keyword research approach. Not just for organic SEM initiatives such as content marketing, but with Google's recent announcement this now includes the crafting of pay-per-click ads, too.”

Tip #3: Consider Display Ads

Contextual ads that show up on websites are not as sexy as ads that show up on Google, but they still work from the same logic: You pay to get your ad seen online by the right people.

Google offers the largest contextual ad network, Google Display Ads, and these ads often are cheaper than placing ads on Google itself. This can make Display Ads a compelling option for cash-strapped marketers.

“Display campaigns can be used to drive awareness in your targeted locations and help support your pay-per-click efforts,” suggests Holly Robowski, associate director of paid media for Cardinal Digital Marketing. “Display is typically less expensive in terms of click costs, and it is an easy way to drive as many eyes to your ads as possible.”

Tip #4: Pick Buyer-Ready Keywords

The customer journey now typically requires 10 or more touch points before a sale. If your SEM budget is tight, it therefore can make sense to focus on buyers in the latter stages of this journey.

“SMBs need to be active with SEM, but with a focus on quality over quantity,” says Marsh. “They should be focusing on buyer-ready keywords.”

An example of a buyer-ready keyword phrase might be “where can I buy vacuum cleaners” or “vacuum cleaner vendors.” These are searches from people who are obviously getting close to making a purchase.

“Taking this approach will reduce total lead volume and increase qualified lead volume,” he notes. “With limited resources, it is wise to have a shorter funnel and fill it up.”

Tip #5: Advertise Only Your Best Products

Just as you should focus on a few key geographies if your SEM budget is limited, you also can get more from a small budget by concentrating your ads on the products or services that generate the most revenue.

“If you have 10 products and a budget of $1,500 per month, I would rather see you spend $750 per product on your top two products than $150 per product on all 10,” says Marsh. “As you generate more ROI, you can reinvest by adding media budget for the remaining products.”

It also makes sense to advertise big-ticket products and those with higher margins, because each sale can absorb more advertising costs than lower-margin items.

Tip #6: Make Good Landing Pages

Finally, don’t forget the landing pages where your ads lead.

“If you’re running digital marketing and expect those efforts to turn into new customers, having a good website is important,” stresses Robowski. “You can run as much media online as you want, but if you’re driving users to a bad experience, it will never give you the return you need to drive efficient traffic.”

This includes investing in your actual website development and maintenance, but also growing and maintaining your SEO presence, she says.

“I've lost count of the number of times we've been contacted by small businesses frustrated with their lack of marketing success, only to find out their website needs a makeover,” adds Ranasinha at Kexino.

So get your landing pages and your web site right before you start spending on ads.

SEM on a budget is possible. You just need to be smart about how you go about it.